Well, I am partnering up with Abby Jean once again, to do a HUGE giveaway in honor of Pink Week here on SMP!

We are giving away a set of 75 letterpressed personalized stationery with printed envelopes! The value is over $350 so it’s a pretty good prize! You can pick from the Sophie, Hannah or Elizabeth collections so that the stationery really reflects your own personal style.

You know the drill…just let us know what your favorite invitation from the Abby Jean line is, and we’ll pick a random winner! All winners from this week’s giveaways will be announced tomorrow afternoon! Good luck! 

* * *

And the winner is…Desiree!

“Pretty much…I am in LOVE with Jill…the invitation that is! The best thing about the “Jill” is that is modern for my taste; not too feminine for my Joe’s taste, and a hint of trastional that is just enough for my Mother to go for. I heart Jill. ~Des”

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 194 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Abby Jean, Breast Cancer Awareness, Fontaine Maury, Giveaway, Letterpress, Personal Stationery, Pink Week
Post categories: Contests, Wedding Invitations & Stationery

Imagine hanging panels of custom silhouette wallpaper or fabric at your reception, with a Polaroid camera for guests to take photos of themselves, then insert into your guest book. How cool is that!? Look closely at the top two photos and you will see the silhouettes.

If you don’t have space at your reception for the fabric panels, definitely check out their silhouette stationery. And I am not just saying that because Fontaine Maury and Abby Jean recently merged. Their silhouette notes are so freaking cute, I am going to be ordering some for myself. And, since we seem to have been on the topic of paper this week, here are some great tips from Fontaine Maury, for writing the perfect thank you note on your new silhouette stationery…

*A thank you note should (ideally) be written within 5 days of receipt of the gift or favor. Never apologize if it is tardy, just make sure you write an especially well crafted letter.

*It is tempting to substitute a phone call or e-mail for the hand written note, but my mantra is “a letter is better.” You don’t have to be Flannery O’Connor or Robert Frost to put together a well-written missive.

*Have some notepaper on hand at all times. Your stationery need not be baroque in its elegance, nor does it need to say thank you on the front. If your stationery says thank you on the front it beats you to the punch. Paper personalized with your name or monogram is best as it is a direct reflection of your unique personality and impeccable taste.Choose a pen that you like to write with and that complements your handwriting style.Mine looks awful if I write with a fine point, I use a felt tip.

*The best salutation for personal correspondence is “Dear” and the first name of the person to whom you are writing. A note to someone who is your senior, or not an intimate friend,may include his or her social title as in “Dear Mr. White.” When writing couples, the
woman’s name always goes first: “Dear Aunt Jane and Uncle Gordon.”

*The length of your note is not important. Most significant are what you say and how you say it. The best thank yous come from the heart and say why you love the gift.A conversational tone is friendly and will help the flow of your thoughts as you write. The use of extras like dashes, ellipses and underlinings will give an informal tone to your letter, but use them sparingly as they can be distracting.

*Open your correspondence by calling attention to the gift or favor. Continue by saying something personal or noteworthy. Finish on an upbeat note…

Dear Sara,
Who would have thought that such beautiful daisies are available in January? They look so pretty on the sideboard next to my grandmother’s silver julep cups. I enjoyed visiting with you very much and look forward to seeing you again soon.
Love, Haile

*Do include a date so that if the recipient saves the note they will have a reference point. The date can either go on the top right or at the end of the note just after your signature.

*Close your note with your signature. Use both your first and last names to an acquaintance or just your first name to family and friends. For new brides, this may be the first chance you have to sign your new name, so indulge. When more than one person is signing a letter, the writer’s name comes last.
.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Abby Jean, Fontaine Maury
Post categories: Wedding Invitations & Stationery

Okay, let’s get to it. For those of you that don’t already know, Abby Jean recently joined forces with Fontaine Maury, a great custom stationery company based out of Georgia. The girls at Fontaine Maury have such a smart aesthetic, but more importantly, they have big dreams for Abby Jean and together, we are going to grow the line and introduce some wonderful new designs.

So, in honor of the “marriage” we are hoping to have YOUR help in launching one of our new pieces! The color palette for the first design is a beautiful butter yellow , chocolate brown and a creamy white. We want the invitation to be classic and timeless, using a great new monogram (something that you can thread through various elements of your wedding papers) though complimented with a contemporary pattern in the liners and perhaps accent pieces.

Take a look at the monogram choices below. Which one do you gravitate towards the most, which one do you think has the most versatility, which one would you like on your own stationery? The person that gives the best feedback will win a set of their very own personalized stationery by Fontaine Maury. Can’t beat that!!

(make sure you click on it to make it larger, and more clear)

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Abby Jean, Fontaine Maury, Letterpress
Post categories: Contests, Wedding Invitations & Stationery

I have a few simple pieces of advice for anyone planning a wedding. This is not an exhaustive list, just some pointers that come to mind.

First, to avoid any misunderstanding before you entwine yourself for life with your husband’s mother, communicate to her a firm number of guests she can invite. It’s very difficult to undo a list once it’s been created. Not to be unfair, you should also communicate your wishes to whoever is throwing the wedding for you. One of my Aunts informed me that I had to invite “cousins down to her generation that were still living”. The cousin total came to 40.

Second, choose what aspect of the wedding is most important to you and stick to your guns on that point. My stick to my gun point was color. My other, very traditional, Aunt kept offering in a very sweet way to help me choose an ivory invitation with black engraving. Being a stationery and product designer, ivory and black just didn’t fly with me. Our invitation was heavy paper in deep red with white engraving. She called it our paper valentine invitation.

Following the invitations lead, my bridesmaid dresses were shades of pink, red and orange, as were the tablecloths, lanterns and flowers. If you set the tone from the beginning it actually makes your job easier. If you’ve decided to go with reds, you can eliminate with grace the chocolate bridesmaid dress your maid of honor is trying to talk you into.

Third, and this relates to point #2, let some of the decisions that other people (your Mother, or in my case 3 Aunts) insist on making for you wash right on over you. Letting go of some of the decisions can be difficult, but it must be done especially if someone is throwing the wedding for you. That is a diplomatic way of saying whoever is footing the bill needs to have some say. I wanted no part of a veil, but it was important to my traditional Aunt and I decided that it was not one of the details that I was going to get worked up over.

I also originally has chosen a different reception site, The Aunts stepped in and told me it was to be on family property. The result was dramatic as you can see. We were all pleased in the end.

Thank you so much, Haile…such great advice. And I can say from experience, SO true. Check back Monday for a new inspiration…have a great weekend!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fontaine Maury
Post categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

Don’t worry, I am not talking about over the top, $500 a pop stationery (although if you want that, there are some oh-so-delicious options out there that I will save for another day), simply some affordable but adorable cards that have your name imprinted on them and even better, your return address pre-printed on the envelope. Your tired hand will thank you for them, I promise!

The goodies designed by Fontaine Maury are PERFECT for brides-to-be. She does custom monograms, starting at $48 for 25 cards, personalized stamps that you can use on your own paper for a lovely $25, notepads that are great for quick notes to vendors (2 pads for $20) and get this…she recently starting doing custom silhouette stationery. Basically, you send in your picture and she will create your very own silhouette printed on quality paper, complete with great color options and font choices, all for $96 (which includes 50 cards/envelopes plus a one time set-up fee of $25).

In my opinion, a must have for the millions of thank you notes that you are going to be writing!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2007. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Fontaine Maury
Post categories: Wedding Invitations & Stationery